Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'National Anthem debate' that was published in Newsband

National Anthem debate

The Supreme Court has ruled that the national anthem should be played before the screening of films in cinema halls, and that all should stand up in respect. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 states: “Whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the Jana Gana Mana or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”

The official duration of the anthem is 52 seconds. A Home Ministry order in 2015 stated, “Whenever the Anthem is sung or played, the audience shall stand to attention.”

Yes, we should be patriotic in our conduct and indeed while representing our country in any international events sports or otherwise. Why are some Indians aghast at this judgement which SC has passed? People in US and other developed nation takes pride in their flag, anthem and nation as a whole. That is the reason they work towards its development and reached where they are today. What is wrong in national anthem, when people have fun in flash mobs singing & dancing every now and them, why can't we show respect to anthem just for 1 minute! It will at least make us feel part of the whole!

What is required is a behavioural change and not just standing for the sake of standing. And this behavioural change can be best inculcated in the minds of children during school age. Respect and Dignity to national symbols should not be a one time show, but should be deep rooted in the minds of individual that gives him inner strength as proud Indian.

In movie theatres in states where playing the national anthem before films is compulsory, people who don’t stand up while the tune is being played are frequently abused, threatened and sometimes made to leave by their fellow cinema-goers.

The national anthem gives us goosebumps when we see the tricolour being unfurled in an Olympic stadium. But sadly, Olympic medals largely elude us. However, the close links of sports and nationalism can be seen.

During the on-going Indian Soccer League, the national anthem is played and spectators and players stand in respect, even though the league is not a state venture. Half of every team, in fact, is made up of foreign nationals who wouldn’t know Jana Gana Mana, but yet the anthem is played. So why shouldn’t the National Anthem be played in cinema theatres?

But the larger irony here is that the writer of the song, Rabindranath Tagore, who was an anti-nationalist, had said: “India has never had a real sense of nationalism. Even though from childhood I had been taught that the idolatry of Nation is almost better than reverence for God and humanity, I believe I have outgrown that teaching, and it is my conviction that my countrymen will gain truly their India by fighting against that education which teaches them that a country is greater than the ideals of humanity.”